Cottage by the Creek

by Elizabeth Bromke

Her mind shot to her oldest sister. The one in the hardest position of all, no doubt. The one handling it the best she could. “But what about Kate and Matt? How can they move on? And if they can’t move on, what will happen? Will everything fall apart?” She shook her head, ashamed to be spilling her guts to this man she still barely knew. Well, perhaps she didn’t barely know Jake.

  After all, he was a good father—Mercy still adored him, despite the scandal. A good teacher—the SCUBA lesson. A good marina manager—his employees loved him.

  And she knew other things about Jake, too. Things she had learned over the course of two dates. Two whole occasions spent with the one goal of getting to know each other, in fact. She knew how much his heart hurt after losing his wife. How the only way he could get through the pain was to start fresh. How the water brought him down to earth—which she pointed out as being distinctly ironic. She knew, too, what his hands felt like on the small of her back. How his eyes lingered on her, and how he flushed when she caught him looking.

  Clara knew what his lips felt like on hers. How he tasted in the middle of a dive… and in the middle of a walk on the beach.

  And she knew she was falling for him. But none of that meant she ought to reveal just how screwed up her family was. And how ashamed she could be.

  But somehow, he made it all better.

  “Things only fall apart if you let them, Clara,” Jake answered, his gaze narrowing on her. “You have more control of your life than you realize. His hand dropped from her chin, and he frowned. “I’m here today not just to help smooth things over for Mercy—for her friendships and her relationship with you, Clara. I’m here to make things work for us, too.”

  Clara looked down at the creek then back to the cottage, then finally let her gaze fall back on Jake. “What if today goes badly?”

  It was a challenge, she knew. And he did, too, because he dropped his hands and took a step back. His face grew dark.

  “Clara, do you think I had an affair with your niece?”

  She waved her hands across her chest frantically. “No, no, no. That’s not what I mean at all. At all.” Her heartrate went into overdrive. She didn’t mean it, either. But how could he understand what she did mean? The only way for him to understand was to try to explain, but she was losing him.

  He’d taken another step back, rubbed his hand across his mouth and turned toward the cottage, assessing his decisions, too. Assessing how he felt about her, no doubt.

  She grabbed his arm and neared him. “Jake, what I mean has nothing to do with you. I mean things might go bad with my family.”

  He frowned.

  “I mean that they are… insular. Protective. Megan and Brian are riled about this whole thing, and you could see some ugly behavior in there.”

  “You think I can’t handle a little family feud?” he asked, his voice lighter now.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. When I look at you and Mercy, I see this perfect little pair—a happy father and daughter making their way in the world. A quiet life. A good one. And when I step outside myself and look at my family, I see chaos. We’re a mess, Jake.”

  “Your family are good people, Clara. And if Megan and Brian weren’t upset about the whole thing, I’d be more worried. I’m a father, first, you know.” His expression took on another shadow, but he shook his head. “Look, Clara, I mean what I said. I’m here for Mercy. And I’m here for you and me. And if you can’t accept that, then I can’t do anything about it.”

  Clara squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, inhaled deeply, then stepped closer to him. As she slowly let out the breath and opened her eyes, she saw him searching her for some answer.

  But she couldn’t speak it. So instead, she ran her hands up his arms, over his shoulders, wrapped them behind his neck and pulled herself up.

  And then she stopped breathing. And she kissed him.

  Chapter 29—Megan

  After the meeting in the principal’s office, Megan talked Brian out of calling Jake Hennings. But it didn’t take much since Sarah swore up and down that positively, absolutely nothing about Vivi’s claim was true.

  Not only had Sarah had zero interaction with Jake, but if what she said was accurate, then Jake also wasn’t a fan of his daughter’s best friend. Sarah even said that Vivi admitted she wasn’t invited to their house. Mercy went as far as to suggest that her dad downright discouraged her from having much to do with Vivi. He preferred that Mercy be a quiet, individualistic girl, even.

  With that assurance, Brian and Megan tried to let it go. But it was hard. Having such a seed planted could do damage to a parent’s brain. They started to see Sarah through a new lens. An adult one. And even if she was on the precipice of turning eighteen, she was very much their little girl. What was harder, however, than erasing the image of Sarah cavorting with a grown man, was the image of her navigating shark-infested waters in school, dodging whispers and ducking beneath cruel rumors.

  All this, according to Sarah, was partly why she was in and then out with the younger group. Sure, she didn’t care to hang out with freshmen. But even more than that, Sarah’s addition added a kink to the dynamic, highlighting the fact that Vivi wasn’t a welcome piece of Mercy’s world. Why Mercy continued to befriend Vivi was no wonder: they each contributed something to the other.

  Mercy needed Vivi to survive high school high society. Vivi needed Mercy so she had a partner in crime—someone to leverage her onto the cheerleading squad. After all, loners didn’t become cheerleaders. Someone to label as a best friend. And someone with an especially popular and attractive father to swoon after and pin her hopes and dreams on.

  And mainly, someone who, like Vivi, didn’t have a mother around.

  And that’s why Megan agreed to a family meeting. To wade through the drama and ensure that when Sarah returned to school on Monday, she would be safe. Because if she weren’t, Megan didn’t know what she would do. Especially since there wasn’t exactly a second high school in the vicinity.

  They arrived precisely on time. Not early so as to make poor Clara even more of a nervous wreck than she already was. Not late to peeve Kate.

  Brian had to all but drag Sarah inside, and that’s when Megan wondered if this was a terrible idea. Should the grownups subject the girls to each other? Would they actually be successful in clearing the air? Was Kate’s plan a bad one? Could teenage girls be made to make up?

  But once they stepped into Clara’s cottage, the atmosphere set Megan at ease immediately.

  It was like a family get-together rather than a come-to-Jesus. Clara had baked cookies and was busy setting a platterful on her coffee table, next to a prettily fanned-out stack of paper napkins. Kate was pouring glasses of iced tea from the kitchen bar.

  Two candles glowed from the center of the kitchen table, emanating notes of apple cinnamon and reminding Megan that fall was upon them. An assortment of fresh-cut fruit and veggies and cheese and crackers framed the candles. Back on the kitchen bar was a seasonal medley of pumpkins, squash, and gourds, and in front of them sat two apple pies.

  It might be overmuch for a Sunday gathering, but the weather was changing, and big questions still hung in the air. Megan withdrew a bottle of wine from her grocery sack and set it on the kitchen table.

  In the corner of the living room, Michael and Jake stood chatting, and if Megan didn’t know any better, she’d have thought there was a ball game on TV and it was half-time and everything was good and normal, and Sarah was still an innocent girl with friends, and Clara was still dating a kindly single dad, and Kate’s boyfriend’s daughter was nothing more than a pretty teenager with a chip on her shoulder.

  Megan couldn’t decide if the contrast was a good thing or a bad thing—the cold conversation that would be staged in such a warm and cozy setting. To drag Sarah back through her own small drama felt like bad parenting, but Kate had assured her that the girls were old enough to join in the conversation about what happened. They were at the center of it, after all. And to Kate�
�s credit (and Clara’s, it would appear), they tried to make the ambience such that people were passing a bowl of chips rather than a box of tissues.

  As Brian and Sarah joined her at the table, their attention easily and immediately shifting to the food, Megan reminded herself that if nothing else, they were among family. And that was more than she could have said back in the suburbs a year prior.

  “The Stevensons are here!” Kate trilled merrily from the kitchen, steering two glasses of tea in their direction. “Welcome, welcome! Sit, sit! Or grab some food. Whatever you prefer. This is all very casual.” She dipped her chin to Megan once Brian and Sarah accepted their drinks. “Come on, Meg, come get your tea.”

  Megan followed her sister and whispered, “Where’s Vivi and Matt?”

  Once in the kitchen, Kate stirred a second pitcher of tea. “They’ll be here.”

  Megan let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “They’re late.”

  “I know, Megan. Don’t worry. I talked to Matt. They’re coming.”

  “Kate, this is incredibly awkward. Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Megan hissed, waffling back and forth between comfort and discomfort—anticipation and dread. She lifted her gaze to the others, who carried on as usual. Sarah and Mercy had found each other and seemed to be chatting, even though they sat on opposite sides of the couch. Megan had been under the impression that Mercy was forbidden from having anything to do with Sarah. Had things softened there? Was there a light at the end of this emotionally exhausting tunnel of teenage drama and flying accusations?

  She watched Brian skirt around the kitchen table, adding bits of food to his plate. Would he sidle up to Jake? Or would all the calm turn to craziness and the two wind up in some childish fist fight on the front porch?

  Kate dropped the ladle onto a dishtowel, ran her hands on a second one, then turned to face Megan. “Yes. This is a good idea. We aren’t doing the Nora thing, Megan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Mom was notorious for sweeping her problems under the rug. Writing them down in a diary and scattering the pages in secret spots throughout her properties like a gossip fairy sent from the past. I refuse to do that to the girls.”

  “Do what?” Megan asked.

  Kate sighed. “To pretend everything is okay today to preserve some fantasy about the future that may or may not exist. Megan,” Kate went on, “we can either ignore what Vivi did, or we can ask her why she did it? We can come together. Eat, drink, and share in each other’s lives in a way that means something for once. Do you ever remember Mom doing that? Dragging us together after an argument? Making us sit together in a circle so we could fight and laugh and cry and just talk?”

  Megan blinked, then shook her head. “No.”

  “Well, that’s what we’re going to do. Okay? And if we want to grow our relationships rather than hamstring them, then you’ve got to give Vivi a chance.”

  “She’s awful, Kate,” Megan answered, her defensiveness of Sarah growing by the minute. Sure, Megan could go along with a little family venting session. But to allow in this cruel outsider? This girl who was hellbent on undermining not only her daughter’s social success, but also her younger sister’s career? “And what about Clara? How does Clara feel about this?”

  At that, Clara materialized behind them, as if by magic. “I’m a little scared, I’ll admit.”

  Megan opened to her, taking in the youngest of the Hannigan four. She wore an orange-ish dress, and her cheeks were flushed. Her hair hung loose and pretty, and she seemed… not scared. “You look gorgeous,” Megan replied.

  Clara grinned. “Thank you.”

  Megan let a smile curl up her cheeks. She could see plain as day why Clara wasn’t hiding in the back bedroom. The look of love washed over Clara’s face, and it was quite obvious that whatever had happened regarding Vivi’s accusations against Jake… it was water under the bridge. That much was obvious. And if she was fearful about something, it sure as heck wasn’t keeping her from shining that day.

  “I think we’re all a little scared, but here’s the thing,” Kate paused and took a breath. “This is bigger than the rumor Vivi started.”

  Megan and Clara looked at Kate in tandem. “What do you mean?”

  “If Vivi were just some stranger’s daughter, then we could write her off. We could count her as a mean girl and go on our merry way. But she’s not some stranger’s daughter.” Kate’s voice broke into a tremble. “She’s the daughter of the love of my life.”

  Megan’s face softened. Her shoulders relaxed. Maybe that secondary goal would help her hang in there. Maybe it would relieve some pressure to know that it wasn’t only Sarah against Vivi or Vivi against Clara. It was the Hannigan family for each other. Even Kate, who was a veritable third party in the current drama.

  Megan saw it clearly. This was Kate’s chance to save the one thing that continually slipped through her fingers.

  Matt Fiorillo.

  “I get it,” Megan said, fortified. “I totally get it. You and Matt. We have to fix this for you, too.”

  “But,” Clara interjected, her confidence bending a little, a break in the fresh façade, “what if we can’t change Vivi? What if Matt can’t fix her?”

  Megan looked at Clara, impressed by her articulation of the one fear that any woman had in life: the fear that people were who they were. That you couldn’t help them be better. You couldn’t mold them into the thing you needed them to be.

  But Kate narrowed her gaze defensively. “What are you saying, Clara? Vivi is not evil.”

  Clara didn’t back down. “Kate, I have to see these girls day in and day out at my job. I have to face them. And Vivi has all but become my own personal bully, even when she’s not there. After the whole thing, my colleagues see me differently. I’m no longer a teacher. And while that’s not a bad thing in terms of my popularity among students, I’ve practically become one of them! And that’s not good. Obviously.” Clara was heated, but she regained control, lowering her voice and flicking a glance from Megan to Kate. “And that’s not all, Kate. Don’t you see what she did? She tried to make sure Jake and I don’t date. It’s the same problem you’re having. Vivi wedges herself between couples. Like a snake. Can you really change that in a child?”

  Kate crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to one side and, in her body language, Megan saw their mother. The hard, cold posturing that Nora Hannigan would put on when challenged or confronted. The affect that could freeze hell. The one that helped turn her daughters into strong young women. “I would think you of all people would believe that children can change. That they can learn. Right?” Kate replied, her voice even and cool.

  Clara took in a deep breath and scanned the room. “I do believe children can learn, of course. But… listen. With Jake, well, I’ve found someone to like. Maybe to love, and if Vivi ruins that then—”

  “Then you didn’t have much to begin with,” Megan said.

  Chapter 30—Amelia

  Amelia had been dubbed the official mediator, partly because she wasn’t shy and partly because she had the least to lose.

  Now, however, she felt like she had the most to lose. With the conversation she and Michael had had just a week before and the new information coming up on Judith Carmichael—she was on to something in her life.

  But she was also on the brink of undermining her own progress by letting Michael in to see just how dysfunctional her family was. She shouldn’t have invited him.

  Then again, Michael and Amelia had something to share with the group, too. And there may not be another family get-together in the near future. Not with how busy everyone was.

  So, she bit the bullet and told him to come. After all, she recalled her mother doing something similar. For every family Christmas dinner or Easter Brunch, Nora Hannigan had a little secret. A little plan.

  She would bring a new person to the bunch—a third party, of sorts. Someone to keep everyone on their best behavior. Som
eone to perform for. A new neighbor or a friend from the country club. Never a date, per se, but always a person the girls had never met and who didn’t necessarily fit in their lives. There was hope that this new person would become Nora’s best friend. Or that the kindly gentleman would court Nora after seeing just how perfectly behaved her daughters were. How perfect the whole family was.

  And then they’d never see the guest again. A blip on the radar.

  Michael wasn’t a blip on the radar. He was part of Amelia’s life, and if she had anything to say about it—which she did, it turned out—then he was there to stay.

  So, for now, he tucked himself onto a kitchen chair behind the sofa, a distant but familiar presence. Available to help, not to watch and judge.

  “I know you’ll all think this is goofy.” Amelia started from her seat on the rocking chair. It was an uncomfortable seat, but she didn’t need to be comfortable. She needed to be on edge to handle things. She looked around the room, her gaze landing on Clara and Kate—who sat together on the piano bench—situated in front of the television to form a nearly perfect circle. Beyond them in the armchair was Vivi, emotionally isolated. Next to her in a kitchen chair sat Matt, then on the sofa were Brian, Sarah, and Megan. And nearest Amelia, propped rigidly in two more kitchen chairs were Jake and Mercy. It wasn’t a dynamic arrangement, but it was an intentional one, positioning each of the three girls separately and allowing for the adults to exit stage left when the time came.

  Amelia went on. “Today, we aren’t going to take turns talking or write a secret note to someone in the group to share a feeling or an apology or whatever. We’re going to… well, we’re going to be normal for once.”

  The others turned serious expressions on her, but no one spoke.

  “That’s right. This isn’t an intervention. It’s a gathering. A chance to bond. I mean, I know this is awkward, but the reason I sat everyone down here—the ‘intervention’ part of this, I mean—is to give the girls a little history lesson, all right?” She looked at Michael, who nodded from his seat in the back.